Rondell Gilmore-Lane battles two Pitman players for the ball/Staff photo Scott Anderson
WOOLWICH TWP. - The butterflies aren’t there anymore.
Pre-game jitters are a thing of the past.
Just roll out the ball and Rondell Gilmore-Lane is ready to do his thing.
The Kingsway senior has played in more big games and been involved in more big moments than most high school kids. In the last two seasons, he’s been to a pair of state semifinals and one state championship.
So when it’s game time, he’s more than just a little prepared.
``When it’s time to shine, it’s time to go,’’ Kingsway boys’ basketball coach George Passante said. ``He’s that type of kid. You don’t get very many opportunities to coach someone like him.
``He understands when the lights come on it’s time to play basketball. We know we can count on him. Tonight he took it as a challenge and did what he’s supposed to do as a senior and a leader.’’
Gilmore-Lane was nothing short of sensational Friday – burying six shots from 3-point range en route to a game-high 25 points in Kingsway’s 69-50 victory over Pitman in a Tri-County Conference interdivision showdown.
``He really ate us up,’’ Pitman coach Kevin Crawford said.
Gilmore-Lane’s big-game experience came shining through over the final five minutes of the first half.
After a back-and-forth start, Kingsway simply went nuts from 3-point range to turn a 17-14 deficit into a 35-25 halftime lead. That 21-8 run to close out the second quarter came courtesy of seven straight shots from beyond the arc.
``When a team shoots the ball like that, there’s not really much you can do,’’ said Pitman guard Luke Dickson, who had 18 points and six assists. ``They kind of shocked us.’’
Gilmore-Lane accounted for four 3s in the outburst, while the Fagan brothers – Jordan and Brad – had two apiece. Gilmore-Lane’s final bomb came from just in front of the Pitman bench, hitting nothing but net as the buzzer sounded.
``That buzzer-beater shot was perfect and to get a good 10-point lead was even more perfect,’’ Gilmore-Lane said.
``We had a slow start. But after we settled down and got those big shots, that was it for us. We were ready and were going to win this game.’’
Rondell Gilmore-Lane looks to go past a defender/Staff photo Scott Anderson
Kingsway (8-1), No. 5 in the Courier-Post Top 10, never looked back. Its lead reached 14 on Gilmore-Lane’s fifth 3-ball early in the third quarter and the advantage continued to balloon in the fourth.
``I know we can shoot the ball better than we’ve been, but shooting it like that … It’s what you need in a game like this sometimes,’’ Passante said. ``It woke us up and gave us a lot of confidence.’’
Troy Jenkins scored 12 of his 16 points in the fourth for Kingsway and finished with a game-high 11 rebounds. Brad Fagan had 11 points and Julian Tention came off the bench to finish with six hard-earned rebounds.
After the break, No. 6 Pitman (7-1) never got closer than eight points. Dylan Colgate led the Panthers with 20 points and nine rebounds.
``I did not see this coming,’’ Crawford said. ``I thought it would come down to the wire.
``That second quarter was the difference in the game. When we get down 8-10 points, we don’t have the scramble ability to get back in it against a Kingsway-type team.’’
